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jimberley t1_it8un00 wrote

Reply to comment by DrMcMeow in Is there any reason Maine couldn't do this? Oregon's entire coast was declared open to public access in the 1960s. by ppitm

Could we amend the state constitution to include public rights to beaches, or would that be superseded by common law?

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EngineersAnon t1_itak198 wrote

It would run into issues with the Federal Constitution's guarantee, in the Fifth Amendment, that "... private property [shall not] be taken for public use, without just compensation." That would get gorram expensive, gorram fast.

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sy33d_am33r_ali t1_itbm2j2 wrote

That’s only if you seize the property and make it public land. Granting public access to private land is a different thing, and Maine already has several similar laws on the books. The Great Ponds Act, etc.

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EngineersAnon t1_itbn1xi wrote

Outright seizure is not essential for a taking. In the Great Ponds Act, the land to which access is granted must be unimproved, which is very different than letting people cross and occupy your front lawn, or a maintained beach to which you hitherto charged access fees.

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